All eyes on Ace Bailey's next move with the Utah Jazz - LEAGUEALERTS
He was the only American player at the draft who had not worked out with an NBA team.
Bailey’s reported preference was Washington, who held the 6th pick.
However, Utah’s new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge had other plans.
To Bailey’s surprise, the Jazz selected him with the 5th overall pick.
In a post draft press conference, the 18-year-old forward stated “I can control what I can control” in response to people who didn’t think he was happy getting drafted by the Jazz.
Despite pre-draft drama, the Jazz seem confident in Bailey’s future with the team.
Ainge stated “his scoring gets a lot of attention, [and] deservedly so. He’s very skilled for his size. But watching a lot of film on him, I was impressed with his defensive effort and particularly his rebounding. Lot of weakside block shots, and his joy and energy for the game.
ESPN’s projected top three prospect Ace Bailey however, did not fly with fellow first-round pick Walter Clayton Jr. to Utah after being drafted.
This further fuelled concern whether he would report to Salt Lake City at all.
The latest update from Ace Bailey’s team reported that he would arrive in Utah tomorrow to start his NBA career.
Ace Bailey will report to Salt Lake City tomorrow to officially begin his NBA career with the Jazz, per @DraftExpress (https://t.co/LmpNgf4BhU).
There had been serious concern about whether Bailey would report or not. pic.twitter.com/gQI0GPqg4p
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 27, 2025
